Different Types of Water Features for Garden, Fountains, Birdbath, Waterfalls, DIY Water Features

Updated on June 2, 2013

Water features are there to turn your garden into a piece of heaven. The
soothing sound of flowing water through rough surfaces, the sparkles of water
from the fountain or just think about their natural ability to attract birds
and butterflies. A true and complete garden must have water features.

Nothing can offer more tranquility to your garden than the
water features.

Don’t think water feature will waste a lot of water; almost all the water features today recycle water. They use a pond or
hidden reservoir. Once you fill it, the water will circulate in a closed loop
and will only lose water by evaporation.

Different Types of Water Features

Garden fountain

Fountains

Garden fountain can be a piece of artwork for your garden; these water features require little maintenance and have a widely varying price range to fit in any type of budget.

The water blowing from a fountain, sparkling in the sun and making a soothing sound when dropping on the water surface can be irresistible. You can use garden fountains as a standalone feature or a part of a pond. And for the spray of water, you have multiple patterns to choose from. Simple single spray to complex multiple spray of water, water only to water gushing from statue or sculpture.

Soothing sound and dynamic visual can be brought to your garden by these fountains. You can either blend the fountain naturally into your garden or showcase it in a well designed landscaped area. If your fountain is large enough you can even add fish (goldfish, Koi etc.) to it making it even more delightful.

Picture of bird bath

Bird Baths

Bird baths are a beautiful welcoming note for the birds. In the summer birds would come, cool off and drink water from your bird bath. Want to see birds in your garden, want to hear their songs, install a bird bath in your garden. These are the simplest type of water features for the garden. There are so many artistic models available and you can always design one yourself. Bird baths with fountain are the trendiest but costly as well.

When building a bird bath by yourself, do not use materials that can contaminate the water like painted plastic or treated wood.

Birds like warm and moving water, so you can customize your birdbath with drippers, heaters with automatic shut off system and water movers. A well maintained clean garden bird bath will ensure you a year-round enjoyment from varieties of bird species that will come to the bird bath and play with the water.

Garden waterfall

Waterfalls

A waterfall can be the best compliment to your water garden
system. Or you can use waterfalls as a standalone water feature for the garden.
The soothing sound of flowing water through irregular surface can provide a
calming influence in your garden.

DIY waterfalls are very much popular and easy to build. If all
the materials are in place, one weekend’s effort will give you a nice waterfall
in your garden.

Thinking about a water garden, don’t miss out on garden
waterfalls. It will keep the water clear and aerated for fish and plants. The
sound and visual appeal of garden waterfalls are just too much to resist.

Streams and waterfalls are essential parts of classic
gardens. You can either use waterfalls alone or a part of a big water garden
system.

Pondless waterfall is a new concept but has some advantage
over their counter parts; they do not require you to maintain a pond. If you
don’t have enough space in your garden or just don’t want a pond, this can be
the right option. And as you can assume these garden waterfalls cost less.
Small size, less maintenance and flexibility to move around make these water features for the garden a perfect match.

Water Garden

Water Garden

Water garden can be called as the complete water feature for any garden. It can be defined as a pond with fishes and water plants, a complete water ecosystem. The most basic water garden should have some gold fish, a few water plants and a water circulation system to keep the water flowing and oxygenated.

You can either buy a pre-made water pond or flexible pond liners to design your own pond. And a basic pond can always be turned into a full-fledged water paradise. You can add waterfalls in the sides, fountain in the middle and can join two or more ponds through streams and make your own water world.

Water gardens or ponds are not complete without fish and water plants. Make sure the habitat is suitable for those to thrive comfortably. If installed properly, it can be your all natural, low maintenance, piece of paradise. And you can add almost all kinds of water features for the garden with the water garden.

But you need to make sure the ecosystem is balanced, which is of course the main criteria for the ecosystem to survive.

Here are a few basic tips to make the ecosystem in your pond balanced.

>Maintain proper flow of water in the pond. It will require plumbing and pumps but will ensure the movement of water and optimum oxygen level for the fish and plants.

>Water garden filters are necessary to keep your pond clean. Use both biological and mechanical water garden filter. Biological filter will provide sufficient surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize and remove excess nutrient from the water while the mechanical filter will remove debris and prevent accumulation of organic material in the pond.

>However, aquatic plants and fish also act as Mother Nature’ s original filters. Fish eat algae and bottom feed from the pond floor whereas plants eating excess nutrient from the water reduces the chance of excessive growth of algae.

>Rock and gravel are a must if you want a natural outlook and their purpose doesn’t stop at that only, they work as water garden filters too. They provide surface space for beneficial bacteria to grow and also protect your pond liners from UV light degradation.

The important thing is to keep with Mother Nature, don’t go against her.

To have a large or complex water garden it would be wise to consult an expert for the set up.

Solar powered water feature

Solar Powered Water Features

Solar powered water features come with solar powered pumps
and battery storage system to run the feature constantly. Normally the pumps
are run in low voltage (12 to 24 volt DC) and because of that, solar water
features have a lower water flow rate and cannot support large spray of water.
But if you are looking for a small fountain or something like that, solar
systems are the perfect choice. The main cost involved in solar powered water
features is the cost of the solar panels. Usually, expensive ones have smaller
panels and vice versa.

Good things about solar powered water features for the
garden

Easy to set up.

Good for the environment.

Various stylish models are
available.

No energy cost.

No need of electric wire in your
garden.

Not enough to drown out the
traffic sound but can calm yourself by the trickling sound of water if you sit
nearby.

Negative side

Large water features are not
available in solar powered system.

Trickling of water is the best you
can expect from these features.

Will not work if the conditions
are not good enough for solar charge.

Electric powered water feature

Most water features available for the garden comes with electricity driven pumps. It does not require a lot of electricity, and thus won’t make a big
impact on your energy bill. But what many people find difficult or rather
complicated is to draw electric line to the garden. One option is to take the
power from the outside light, but make sure it does not depend on the light
being on. When moving across lawn and soil you can bury the wire in the soil
easily but moving across hard surfaces (patios or paths) would take some
efforts. But it is not that difficult and a handy electrician could easily
handle that. It does not matter from which point you take the power, only make
sure the electric cables are protected and not visible in the garden.

The good thing about electric powered water features for the
garden is they use little power and you can always try some lights with the
water feature which is not possible with solar water features.

DIY water feature

You can build a few water features for your garden by yourself

Water features for the garden are not that difficult to build, especially
if you are planning to build a small one. For large and complicated things, it
is better to hire an expert. Water feature like a rock with bubbling water
coming from it or a bird bath are quite easy to build for anyone that knows how
to use a screwdriver.

If you are going to build a pond or something larger, first
point out the location and shape. You can use a garden hose to mark the spot
and shape, if you are not satisfied, try again, but make sure you find your
preferred shape for the pond.

All waterfalls are built with a base waterfall made with a
liner or a cement base and then rocks and stones added for the style. You can
build one yourself by using a few rocks and a few household things like tub or
water container. You can hide the water container by the rocks and the pump
must be placed below the water level in a safe place. Only make sure the water falls on the rocks and then flows into the
container to get the process running again and again.

Tips for Buying Water Features

Whatever water feature you buy, it will be a part of your
home for a long time; you will see it every day. So, getting the right pond for
your home with the right options is critical. And it is not necessary to buy a
large and complex feature in the beginning; you can always add new accessories
over time.

Only focusing on the initial cost and getting the cheapest
offer available for installation will inevitably result in regrets.

When choosing a pond installer, make sure you get a complete
list of all the details from your pond installer/designer.

The main factors to consider when buying water features for
the garden are

Finding the right location for
the feature.

Style and design, if you are
using more than one feature make sure they complement each other.

Size and shape must be suitable
for your garden.

When buying large water features for the garden, what accessories to add (ex. Cascade, streams, waterfalls or
fish/plants).

Maximum enjoyment and minimum maintenance should be your
target. A simple rule of thumb is, when it comes to water feature costs, the
larger it is, the higher the price will be.

Useful Tips for Your Garden Water Features

Choose a pump with the capacity to
pump the entire volume of water in the pond in an hour

Open water is always a big
invitation to the kids. It would be wise to keep a close eye on them as their
activities can harm water gardens.

Keep patience in developing a
balanced ecosystem for a water garden as it takes approximately two to six
weeks to get that balance.

Never build garden water features
or ponds under or near a tree as the roots of the tree can do serious damage to
the pond liner. And in autumn, the falling leaves of the tree will cause more
problems for your water feature.

Sometimes we dig holes in the
center of the rocks to install a pipe (attached to the pump) so that the water
would flow to a certain pattern, when doing this make sure that the rocks are
not directly over the pump, because in that case, you would have to remove all
the rocks before you can service/remove the pump.

When buying solar water features for the garden, make
sure the solar panels are movable so that you can adjust them toward the sun.

The location of the water feature
should be good enough to be seen easily especially from the window. You don’t
want to miss out on that option.

Do not keep your water feature alone,
Nestle it with plants to make it more natural and pleasing.

A little bit of history and why we love water features in our garden so much

How many beautiful romantic scenes have you seen in movies
that include waterfalls? An island movie cannot be complete without a waterfall
or something like it. We cannot live in those islands, but we can always add
some flavor of that in our garden.

In ancient times
water features were a symbol of beauty and status. One great example of it is
the Great Alhambra in Spain.

In the old
times, people used gravitational force to build water features. As science progressed
they began to use hydraulic rams. At the
beginning of 18th century, with the invention of steam engine,
people began to use steam powered engines in the water features. Current water
features for the garden are mostly electric driven, but solar powered features are getting
popularity and as people are getting more and more concerned about energy costs
and the safety of the environment, who knows we might see new kind of green
water features soon.

For making your garden more welcoming, water feature is a
must. No garden is complete without water elements. Sit nearby the water
feature in your garden and calm yourself with the soothing sound of flowing
water.

Enjoy your water feature; make it an oasis for birds and
wildlife.

The world today has become too complicated and competitive;
you need a personal retreat, your own peace of heaven. With water features,
your garden can be that place for you.

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Comments 3 comments

I love water features in the garden and this hub is so inspiring! I had a pond with a little waterfall in my former garden but it was of course left behind when we moved. I have plans for some water features in our new garden also so this hub was very welcome! Beautiful photos and great ideas! Thanks. Tina

Zack 3 months ago

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